https://todaypurpose.com/tags/retirement/Recent content in Retirement on Today PurposeHugoenFri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://todaypurpose.com/wiki/when-to-retire-early/Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://todaypurpose.com/wiki/when-to-retire-early/<p><a href="https://todaypurpose.com/wiki/how-much-is-enough/">How much is enough</a> asks <em>how much</em>. This asks <em>when</em> — and the answer turns out to be less about a net-worth number than about recognising a window that is already open.</p> <h2 id="the-baseline-numbers">The baseline numbers</h2> <p>What people actually do (US data, from a financial planner&rsquo;s review of the retirement research):</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th></th> <th></th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Average US retirement age</td> <td>62</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Retire between 61 and 65</td> <td>over half</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Out of the workforce before 60</td> <td>nearly 1 in 5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Surveyed &ldquo;ideal&rdquo; age</td> <td>63</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>63 is defensible on paper — still healthy, Medicare close, decades of compounding behind you. But nobody <em>stumbles</em> into early retirement. Retiring a decade or more early means a longer runway to fund and a bigger healthcare gap to bridge, so it has to be built toward deliberately.</p>